Handrails



Dec H96@ um. BLUM EMM @mmm HANDRAILS Filed June 26, 1964 2 Sheetswheet l Er'gl Patented Dec. 6, 1966 3,289,381 HANDRAILS l Louis Blum and William J. Horgan, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.,

assignors to Blumcraft of' Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa., a

firm composed of Hyman Blum, Louis Blum, Max

Blum, and Harry P. Blum Filed June 26, 1964, Ser. No. 378,185 1 Claim. (Cl. 52-730) This invention relates generally to handrails and particularly to unitary composite handrails.

An important object of the invention is to provide a unitary handrail the component parts of which are positively locked together.

Another object is to provide such a handrail which may be assembled in the shop and shipped to the construction site fully assembled.

Another object is to provide such a handrail which is simple in form, economical to manufacture and easy to erect.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent when the following description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a handrail constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section on line II-II of FIG. 1',

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the component parts ofthe handrail, shown separated from each other;

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the component parts of the handrail, shown separated from each other;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of a modified form of the handrail constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 6 is a section on line VI-VI of FIG. 5

FIG. 7 is a perspective View of the component parts of the modified handrail, shown separated from each other;

FIG. 8 is another perspective view of the component parts of the modified handrail, shown separated from each other.

The following description is directed to the specific forms of the invention illustrated in the drawings and is not intended to be addressed to the scope of the invention, which may be practiced in a wide variety of forms.

Referring particularly to FIGS. l to 4, inclusive, the handrail, generally designated 10, includes a base member 12 of metal, for example, aluminum, and a grip member 14 made of wood. The undersurface of the base member 12 is provided with a longitudinally extending T- shaped slot 16, and on each side of the slot 16 are undersurface areas 18 converging downwardly. The upper surface of the base member 12 is provided with laterally spaced longitudinally extending grooves 20. Between the grooves 20 is a longitudinally extending flat upper surface area 22, and on the outer sides of the grooves 20 are longitudinally extending flat upper surface areas 24. The opposite sides of the base member 12 converge downwardly, as at 26.

The grip member 14 is provided with an undersurface area 28 over the surface 22 of the base member 12, and with undersurface areas 30 over the surface areas 24 of the base member 12, Between the surface areas 28 and 30 are depending tongues 32 which fit into the grooves 20. The upper surface of the grip member 14 is convex upwardly, as at 34, and the opposite sides thereof converge upwardly, as at 36. Screws 38, extending through openings 40 in the base member 12, serve to hold the grip member 14 to the base member 12.

A handrail support, generally designated 42, includes two sections 44 fit into the slot 16 and are connected by a coupling assembly 46 to a railing post 48. It will be noted that the upper surfaces of the base member 12 and the lower surface of the grip member 14 are complementally formed for a close tongue and groove fit. It will also be noted that the screws 38 are disposed at a suitable angle so that a screwdriver may be inserted through the slot 16 for turning the screws in.

Now referring to the modified form of 'the structure, illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 8, inclusive, the handrail, generally designated 5t) includes a tubular member 52 of metal, for example, aluminum, and grip members 54 made of wood. The tubular member S2 includes a part 56 provided with an uprigh side wall 58, a laterally extending flange 60 and an upright extension of the flange 60, designated 62. At the bottom of the part 56 is a laterally extending flange 64 provided with a longitudinally extending T-shaped slot 66 in the undersurface thereof. The tubular member also includes a part 68 provided with an upright side wall 70, laterally extending flange 72 and an upright extension of the flange 72, designated 74. The flange extension 74 is hooked, as at 76. At the bottom of the part 68 is a laterally extending flange 78 seated upon the flange 64. A countersunk head screw is projected freely through the flange 64 and is threaded into the flange 7S.

Associated with each of the parts 56 and 68 is a grip member S4 provided with a lateral extension 84 extending over the flanges 60 and 72 and abutting the upward extension 74 of the flange 72 and its hook 76. The outer surface of the grip member is convex outwardly, as at 86, and the upper surface is convex upwardly, as at 88. The lower surfaces of the grip members converge downwardly, as at 89. The grip members are secured to the tubular parts by means of screws, designated 92.

A handrail support, generally designated 94, and comprising two parts 96 is fitted into the T-shaped slot 66 and is connected by a coupling assembly 98 to a railing post 100,

In the assembly of the handrailing, the grip members 54-54 are tted over the tubular parts 56 and 68 and secured thereto by means of screws 92, whereupon the tubular parts are assembled by rst hooking part 76 over the part 62 and seating the flange 78 upon the flange 64 and then turning in the screws 8).

What is claimed is:

In a handrail, the combination consisting of an elongated solid base member, an elongated solid wooden grip member, said members being the same in width, and being disposed with the undersurface of the grip member in full face engagement with the upper surface of the base member, a central longitudinally extending T-shaped slot in the undersurface of said base member adapted for receiving handrail supports, and means for afllxing said grip member to said base member including a pair of longitudinaly extending tongues depending from the undersurface of said grip member and received respectively in a pair of grooves formed in the upper surface of said base member, said tongues being spaced apart a distance approximately equal to one-half the width of said base and grip members, and wood screws inserted through said T- 3 4 shaped slot and the overlying base wall thereof into said 2,590,929 4/ 1952 Bush 256-22 grip member. 2,869,829 1/ 1959 Spangberg 256-65 3,164,354 1/1965 Murdock 256*65 References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 1,135,817 4/1915 Klein et a1. 25e-19 5671071 1/1945 Great Bfltam 1,757,686 5/1930 Rosenbaum. 1,795,716 3 /1931 Eckland 52 727 HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner. 2158291 5/1939 Lank 52u727 D. L. TAYLOR, Assistant Examiner.

2,309,149 1/1943 Wood et al 52-173 X 10 

